Body Found In Newport News

March 17, 1991

NEWPORT NEWS — The body of a 41-year-old woman was found in the woods near Newport News Reservoir Saturday morning by a traveler from Houston, Texas, police said.

The traveler, who was staying at the Mulberry Inn at 16890 Warwick Blvd., discovered the body when he took a walk down to the reservoir near Fort Eustis at about 9:30 a.m., said police spokesman Sgt. Michael Brewer.

He added that the death did not appear suspicious.

The woman was identified as Betty May Peterson, an Army retiree who was originally from Raleigh, N.C.

Brewer said she had been staying recently at the Colonial Courts Motel at 10451 Jefferson Ave. in midtown.

A motel employee said she had been staying there for more than two years, without interruption.

Brewer said ``there appeared to be no suspicious cause of death. But we won't know for sure until the autopsy is performed Monday.'' He said the death appeared to be either accidental or from natural causes.

``There was no visible sign of drug use, or injury or trauma,'' Brewer said.

The body was found fully clothed, lying in a lightly wooded area near a water pumping station, about one-tenth of a mile from the Mulberry Inn, he said.

The woman appeared to have been dead for no more than a couple of days, he said.